First and foremost I think the Red Sox have players currently left off of their 40-man roster that they're going to make an effort to add to the roster through a few minor moves. Most specifically they will try to make room for Allen Webster, Alex Wilson, Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Josh Fields so that they are not lost to the Rule 5 draft. I'll equate for these through the simulation:

Love the FA signings, especially the two above. Wish we could've gotten in on McCarthy, I like the way his GB/HR rates would translate to Fenway--provided we had a backup plan as he's a safe bet to miss 15-25 of the 60 projected starts over the life of the contract due to his chronic shoulder issues. But the Sox could absorb the minimal risk presented. As for Braden--as he said on Twitter, he's "left-handed and has a heartbeat"--anyone heard anything about his recovery from surgery?
However the trades are a little unrealistic, particularly the Mets trade. Why would the Mets give up a 30 HR, .230 ISO bat for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Alfredo Aceves, and Ryan Sweeney? You can sign a player of Sweeney's caliber on the market, Aceves has little to no value right now (and FA next year), and Saltalamacchia, while better than average, is a FA next year. The only *value* I see for the Mets in that deal is Salty, as they need a catcher (who granted, had a +.200 ISO last year) but the other two involved going to New York do not make up the discrepancy of trading 4 years of Ike Davis for 1 year of Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
In regards to the Indians trade, they are asking for "frontline" pitching for their tradeable assets (Cabrera, Masterson, Choo). If I were Antonetti I would believe that I could get more than a #3 pitcher, a reliever, an all-glove shortstop, and Brentz (although I'm probably higher on him than most) for a pitcher and a shortstop one year removed from 4.7 and 3.8 WAR seasons respectively. Granted, Masterson's issues re: lack of third out pitch/platoon splits have come back, but you have to think that would be selling low at this point? And Asdrubal Cabrera alone, I believe, would net Doubront/Brentz at the very least. For the Indians, I would view it as a neutral gain in the rotation and a loss at shortstop while only getting Brentz and Workman to make up for that.

Who would you have covering Ross v. RHP (away)? Sands? Is Kalish the other outfield regular?

One thing I just thought of--with Buchholz, Lackey, and McCarthy all in the starting rotation, there's immense potential for injuries to ravage it. Outside of Braden (would he accept an assignment to the minors?) and Morales, do you believe RDLR would be able to step in?

12-10-2012, 06:22 PM

Nomar

Definitely not enough from us in the trades but I like the final product if you did end up working out the kinks.